The Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus has awarded a Local Access Contract to Bell Aliant that will provide more than 24,000 homes and businesses improved access to high-speed Internet. The region includes portions of Haliburton County and a northern part of Peterborough County.

As part of the contract, Bell Aliant will provide a wired or DSL solution that will expand broadband access in the 2,700 square-kilometre area. Bell Aliant will lay 121 kilometres of new fibre optic cable and rely on eight new “Points of Presence” within the region.

“We are extremely pleased to announce this contract,” said Mel Campbell, Chair of the EOWC. “This will expand high-quality wired Internet access in an area that had been hard to service because of its dispersed population.”

Satellite services will provide the balance of high-speed coverage in the area. Satellite access remains the best fit technology for very sparsely populated areas or regions with difficult terrain. Contracts have already been signed to deliver high-speed via satellite at improved pricing across Eastern Ontario.

This is the sixth of several contracts that will be awarded to deliver high-speed Internet through wired and fixed wireless services as part of the Eastern Ontario regional broadband project. The $170 million project is funded by federal, provincial and municipal governments and private sector investment. Work to build a massive, 5,500-km fibre optic network is already underway.

“We are making excellent progress in building a new regional network that will allow our residents and businesses to prosper,” added Dave Burton, Chair of Eastern Ontario Regional Network Inc., (EORN). “Connecting to the Internet with higher speeds will open new doors for our communities in terms of quality of life and economic growth.”

EORN is a not-for-profit organization established by the EOWC to manage all contracts awarded as part of the project.

Once up and running in fall 2012, a variety of service packages will be offered, ranging from 1.5 Mbps to up to 10 Mbps. These speeds will enable users to stream video and other innovative applications that will support various sectors, including business, health and education.